Managing your mana while raiding

Welcome to another installment of “voices from the community’. Today’s post was written by Bouridon, a very talented resto druid that heals with Lissanna in our guild Undying Resolution on Elune (US)!

With all of the OOM-related issues healers are having in Cataclysm, I thought it would be good to explain the best ways to conserve/regain your mana efficiently(as a restoration druid)!

Spirit- None of the following will really matter if you don’t have an adequate amount of spirit for passive combat mana regeneration. While you may have to stack some spirit at lower gear levels (346ish iLvl), once you start getting some purple pixels this will become less important as your gear will provide more than enough. (intellect also provides mana regen from talents, so you still want to gem for int).

Side note- Always have your gear gemmed/enchanted for max healing/regeneration. I will not go further into gearing issues at this time.

Overcasting- We all do this at some points (albeit usually by accident) but you really need to be cautious to not overcast(especially HoTs). By this I mean, don’t Wild Growth when only a few people are taking damage and try not to put Rejuvenation on someone if 50% or more of the duration will be over-healed. As for cast time heals:

Nourish: Feel free to use this as much as you like as it is our most efficient(and practically free) heal. Try to use this on someone with a HoT already on them.

Healing Touch: Primarily, you will be using this much more when assigned to tank healing as opposed to raid healing. There will be times that you need to cast this on a DPS taking a lot of damage, which is fine. However, don’t use HT on someone who can be easily healed with your HoTs/Swiftmend, as it is a waste of mana.

Regrowth: I suggest rarely using the current version of Regrowth unless you have an Omen of Clarity proc, as it is very mana intensive(and heals for fairly small amounts). I’ve found using Regrowth on a tank (and sometimes a DPS) may be completely necessary to keep them alive and thus should be done intelligently (don’t spam) and not too often.

Lifebloom- You should always keep a 3stack of Lifebloom rolling on someone (usually a tank). This is because Lifebloom is now the only way to get Omen of Clarity while healing(with talented Malfurion’s Gift).

Clearcasting(OOC)- OOC only lasts 6 seconds now and makes your next cast-time spell free of mana. The only healing spells that will consume the proc are now: Healing Touch, Regrowth, and Swiftmend. Use your best judgement on whether you should use Regrowth or Healing Touch on your target. Never consume an OOC proc with Swiftmend, as it is very low on mana cost.

Innervate- This regenerates mana equal to 20% of the casting druids MAX mana on yourself (or current target) over 10 seconds.

For 2+ Restoration druids: I recommend that you each pick up Glyph of Innervate and make a simple macro: /target Bouridon /use Innervate , and set up a chain to get the most out of each innervate. Even if you don’t have 2+ restoration druids in your raid, it is still a good glyph to have incase you need to innervate the OOM Priest/Paladin/Shaman healer(while still getting 50% of the effect).

Innervate on yourself: I suggest using it right when you dip below ~80% mana. This will get you another 1 or 2(possibly 3?) innervates depending on the fight. Another thing to keep in mind is that any proc intellect bonuses you get (IE:Power Torrent enchant) will increase the amount of mana you regenerate from this. If you can, wait for an intellect proc and then pop Innervate.

Mana Pots- Always have a stack (or more) of Mythical Mana Potions stocked in your bags before raids as this is a valuable source of mana when you need it! I find myself using them regularly during each raid encounter. I usually use them when I hit about 80% mana after I’ve used my first innervate.

I also recommend that you get some Potion of Concentration for fights where you can take time to regain the mana(IE: Magmaw when he is spiked).

Tree of Life- ToL should be used for 3 purposes(in raid settings):

Solely for increased healing

Low mana/regen + increased healing

LOLWrath Spam

What many druids don’t realize is that ToL should be used to conserve/regenerate mana, as opposed to spamming instant Regrowth and going OOM.

ToL Strategy– If you find yourself needing mana/running low and have Tree of Life off cooldown go ahead and pop it. Now simply sprinkle Lifeblooms across the raid (this will cause a high amount of Omen of Clarity procs). Use Instant Regrowth/Healing Touch on the OOC procs. You will find yourself healing for a lot with relatively no mana cost while still regaining mana through your passive combat regeneration.

Side Note- On a fight like Phase 2 of Chimaeron for example(all healing on everyone reduced by 99%), Tree of Life can be used for boosted 1 sec cast-time Wraths for extra damage on the boss.

If you have any questions leave them in the comments section and I will respond promptly.

10 comments on “Managing your mana while raiding”

Ohhhh – I have been turning tree and throwing off LBs like crazy when I get really low on mana, as a last ditch stand. I did notice the OOC procs without understanding (twigging?) as to why I was lucky enough to get them …doh! And thanks 🙂

Just to clarify…. You mention the intellect proc in regard to innervating oneself… so what if I have the innervate glyph, and innervate someone else when i have that intellect proc… does that benefit either of us?

Thanks for the really helpful tips. I’m a boomie/ off-healer, and your guide and tips have helped me to become a viable raid healer.

Yes, as innervate regens mana equal to the casting druids max mana (your current amount of mana, fully buffed and with any procs you may have) on your target (or yourself). Both your target and the 50% you receive is benefited by these procs.